TAMPA, Fla. -- The Yankees are nearing the end of a Spring Training that has been run about as well as Joe Girardi could have hoped, and now the manager believes that he will have some difficult calls to make during the final week of camp.

It remains possible, Girardi said, that the Yankees will go into the regular season without naming a set closer. That would create a situation in which Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller are asked to share the ninth-inning duties, an arrangement that both pitchers say they would embrace.

Tanaka, Yanks relieved after healthy spring

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- The contact might have been more solid than Masahiro Tanaka would have preferred on Tuesday, but as the Yankees right-hander left the mound for the final time this spring, the organization had to be thrilled that he is heading into the regular season with a clean bill of health.

Preferring to face a big league club for his final tuneup, Tanaka volunteered to make the 140-mile trek to Hammond Stadium, where he completed his Spring Training workload by hurling 4 1/3 innings of three-run, seven-hit ball in a 3-1 loss to the Twins.

Didi may sit Wednesday with swelling in left wrist

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius is still experiencing some swelling in his sprained left wrist and may not be ready to play Wednesday as originally planned, manager Joe Girardi said.

Gregorius rolled on his wrist diving for a ground ball on Saturday against the Orioles. Precautionary X-rays and a MRI were negative, and Gregorius has been receiving treatment at George M. Steinbrenner Field for the last three days.

Center fielder penciled in to return to Grapefruit League duty after strong Minors game

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury returned to action in a Minor League game on Tuesday in Tampa, delivering two singles in five at-bats and playing five innings of defense as he works his way back from a strained oblique.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said that he has Ellsbury penciled in to play for the big league squad on Wednesday against the Rays. That would mark Ellsbury's first Grapefruit League game since March 15, when he sustained the strain while playing catch.

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Left-hander Tommy Milone was solid in his final Grapefruit League tuneup, while Eduardo Escobar doubled and homered to help lead the Twins to a 3-1 win over the Yankees on Tuesday at Hammond Stadium.

Facing Masahiro Tanaka in the third inning, Escobar smoked a double down the right-field line, and he scored on Chris Herrmann's single to left field, sliding around the tag from catcher Austin Romine. Eric Fryer added an RBI single off Tanaka in the fourth before Escobar crushed a solo blast to right field off the Yankees' Opening Day starter in the fifth.

Wilson living up to reputation as flamethrower

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- When the radar gun readings have been plopped down in the coaches' room this spring at Yankees camp, one name has consistently ranked ahead of the others. Justin Wilson arrived with a calling card of big velocity, and thus far, the left-hander has lived up to that advertisement.

"I think my velocity has always been up in the spring, usually kind of lively," Wilson said. "You get extra days off in the spring, so it's a little bit more controlled. It's nice to be fresh out there for the most part. I've heard it's been up there and it's been kind of normal."

Yanks believe good health will lead to good offense

TAMPA, Fla. -- If you sit down and crunch the Yankees' math, the most important number to remember may be 633. That's the number of runs they scored last season, ranking near the bottom of the American League, and they must exceed it to achieve their goal of championship-caliber ball in 2015.

Third baseman homers, drives in three to lead Yankees in rout

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Chase Headley went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs to back another strong outing from Nathan Eovaldi to help the Yankees beat the Astros, 7-0, on Sunday afternoon at Osceola County Stadium.

Alex Rodriguez made his debut at first base for the Yankees and went 1-for-1 with a walk and a run scored while playing four innings.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- At this stage of Alex Rodriguez's career, there are not many new experiences to be found between the white lines. Standing at first base, charging a ground ball and feeding it to a moving target qualified as one of them.

Making his first career appearance at first base, Rodriguez handled three chances in three innings at the position, grabbing that grounder and accepting two throws in the Yankees' 7-0 Grapefruit League victory over the Astros at Osceola County Stadium.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- One of the things that Nathan Eovaldi remembers about growing up in Alvin, Texas, is that Nolan Ryan seemed to be everywhere. His photos were on the walls of restaurants, highways were named in his honor and old-timers still talked about his greatest games as though they happened yesterday.

Eovaldi didn't realize it as he stepped on the mound Sunday at Osceola County Stadium, but the Hall of Famer was there too. Ryan watched the game in his role as an Astros executive advisor and said that he was looking forward to seeing how his fellow Alvin High School alum handled the competition.

Yankees expect first baseman to play Wednesday after getting hit by pitch

KISSIMMEE, Fla. -- Mark Teixeira was diagnosed with a right knee contusion after being hit by a pitch in a Minor League game on Sunday morning, the Yankees announced.

Teixeira immediately left the game at the Yankees' Himes Avenue complex and appeared to be limping, but he told reporters that he was "fine." The club said Teixeira is receiving ice treatment and that no tests are scheduled.

Yankees shortstop was injured diving for ground ball on Saturday

TAMPA, Fla. -- Didi Gregorius received treatment and reported some improvement in his strained left wrist on Sunday, one day after the Yankees' shortstop awkwardly rolled on his glove hand diving for a ground ball.

Gregorius said that he believes he will be ready for Opening Day. The Yankees' plan is to rest him for the next two days and then try to get him back in the lineup on Wednesday, when New York hosts the Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Mitchell, Davies among 10 players sent to Minors on Sunday

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Yankees re-signed Jared Burton to a Minor League contract on Sunday, agreeing on a new deal with the right-hander three days after he was released by the club, among several other transactions that trimmed their spring roster.

Burton, 33, has been sidelined since March 17 with a strained lat. He had an opt-out in his original contract that he planned to exercise, so the Yanks released him and then agreed to a new deal.

Drew, A-Rod go yard as Baker struggles vs. O's

Right-hander tapped for five runs in second inning

3/28/15: Stephen Drew hits a solo home run to right field off Jason Garcia in the 5th inning for the Yankees' first run of the game

By Bryan Hoch and Brittany Ghiroli
/
MLB.com |

TAMPA, Fla. -- Alejandro De Aza hit a three-run homer to back Tyler Wilson's impressive start as the Orioles defeated the Yankees, 10-2, on Saturday at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

De Aza's second homer of the spring highlighted a five-run frame as Baltimore jumped on right-hander Scott Baker. Ryan Flaherty had a sacrifice fly and Jonathan Schoop slapped a run-scoring single in the frame off Baker, who is trying to win a spot on the Yanks' pitching staff as a non-roster invitee.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Dellin Betances would hate to get on the plane without another clean inning under his belt, so this is going to be an important week for the Yankees right-hander to iron out the wrinkles.

Betances was touched for a run in the sixth inning of the Yanks' 10-2 Grapefruit League loss to the Orioles on Saturday. In seven appearances, the All-Star has permitted five earned runs and is sporting a 7.11 ERA.

A-Rod adds third homer to consistent spring

TAMPA, Fla. -- When Alex Rodriguez hit his first home run of the spring, he remarked that it had been so long, he had forgotten what it was supposed to feel like. This time, when ball met barrel, he knew exactly what was happening.

Rodriguez slugged his third Grapefruit League homer Saturday, a solo shot to left-center off Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz, in the seventh inning of Baltimore's 10-2 victory at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Yankees southpaw allows two homers in productive five-inning outing

TAMPA, Fla. -- It was CC Sabathia's request to pitch in a Minor League game Saturday, not wanting to provide a sneak peek to a division rival while the Yankees hosted the Orioles over at George M. Steinbrenner Field. He may have been regretting that call after one pitch.

It's often said that Minor League hitters swing early and often, and Sabathia barked when his first pitch was slugged over the wall by Alen Hanson, an infielder with the Pirates' Triple-A squad. Sabathia served up two homers in a five-inning outing that he said was productive.

TAMPA, Fla. -- Masahiro Tanaka has been named as the Yankees' Opening Day starter for the April 6 contest against the Blue Jays, accepting an assignment that had been issued to CC Sabathia for the last six seasons.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi announced the club's probable pitchers for the first four games of the season on Friday. Tanaka will be followed by Michael Pineda, Sabathia and Nathan Eovaldi in the rotation, with the fifth starter yet to be announced.

Girardi sees veteran as third option behind Teixeira, Jones

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Yankees have been preparing Alex Rodriguez to serve as an emergency backup at first base, and they'll get a chance to evaluate his progress on Sunday against the Astros in Kissimmee, Fla.

Rodriguez is scheduled to play five innings as a first baseman in that afternoon's contest, according to manager Joe Girardi, who envisions Rodriguez as a third option behind Mark Teixeira and Garrett Jones at the position.

After uneven start to spring, second baseman drives in two runs vs. Phils

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Yankees are hoping that a more normal Spring Training will allow Stephen Drew to return to the form he showed two seasons ago, and that belief was not shaken by the veteran infielder's slow start at the plate.

Entering Friday afternoon batting just .167 (6-for-36) in his first spring with the Yanks, Drew showed signs of busting out in New York's 10-0, rain-shortened Grapefruit League win over the Phillies, going 3-for-3 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs.

Second baseman goes 3-for-3; righty fans five in five scoreless innings

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Yankees second baseman Stephen Drew had three hits and two RBIs in Friday's 10-0 rain-shortened victory over the Phillies at Bright House Field. The game was called with one out in the top of the sixth inning.

Phillies left-hander Jake Diekman allowed seven runs on six hits and a walk in just one-third of an inning as the Yankees broke up a scoreless tie in the fifth.Diekman's Grapefruit League ERA rose from 3.86 to 12.27 in his seventh appearance.

Yanks DH runs first to third, second to home against Phillies

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- As Alex Rodriguez checks the boxes off his mental to-do list this spring, he was waiting for an opportunity to make the pair of 180-foot dashes from first to third and second to home. Both were knocked out on a busy Friday afternoon.

Rodriguez went from first to third on Stephen Drew's second-inning double, then scored from second base on Chris Young's two-run single in the fifth. For good measure, Rodriguez even tried to score on a fly ball to right field, a play that ended with him being tagged out.

Right-hander still favorite to land role; official word may come in a few days

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- Adam Warren may not be thrilled with his new nickname of "Secretariat," playing off a comment offered this week by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, but he is certainly happy with what it represents.

Cashman likened Warren to the legendary racehorse in evaluating the Yankees' fifth starter competition, and though the right-hander is in no danger of a photo finish, he said that any celebration would be premature before it is officially announced by the club.

Bryan Hoch is a reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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64 years ago, Mantle hit a 550-660 foot HR

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By Matt Monagan |

We've seen some incredible rookies impress over the last few years. From Jose Fernandez to Bryce Harper to Mike "The Fish God" Trout. But 64 years ago today, a 19-year-old Mickey Mantle may have topped them all during a Spring Training game against USC.

Warren solid in latest bid for rotation spot

Right-hander strikes out five over 3 2/3 innings vs. Rays

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Warren gets his 5th strikeout 0:12

3/26/15: Adam Warren ends his start with a strikeout of Kevin Kiermaier in the 4th inning

By Bill Chastain & Bryan Hoch
/
MLB.com |

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. -- The Rays had a "bullpen day" on Thursday as they did not use a starting pitcher, rather a stream of relievers were backed by home runs from Evan Longoria and Desmond Jennings in a 6-5 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday at Charlotte Sports Park.

"You had to be prepared a little earlier," said Grant Balfour, who pitched a scoreless third. "Guys are going six, seven innings now. Today was one of those days where we just threw all the relievers out there."

Bill Chastain is a reporter for MLB.com. Bryan Hoch is a reporter for
MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @bryanhoch and read his MLBlog, Bombers Beat. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.